This Bud's for You!

"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near."

Matthew 24:32

One of the questions asked by His disciples in verse 3 was, "What will be the sign of your coming?" After explaining that His coming will be amazingly obvious, He uses the lesson of the fig tree.  But is this lesson a metaphor of us or of the what we observe around us?  Are we the budding fig tree or are the events of life around us the budding fig tree?

As we see so often in the multi-layered Word of God, it is probably both.  In the first metaphor, we are the fig tree.  It's a picture of a tree coming out of dormancy after the long, cold winter.  We then feel His life surging through us again.  And when He returns, that life will be undeniable and we know it, even in our bones.

In the second metaphor, we will see things happening around us that speak of His imminent return.  Some are mentioned in the passage before this verse.  But further signs of a fig tree coming to life would be clear and unavoidable.  Things like:

1. Revivals across the globe that never fade, but grow and capture the world with a strength and power as never before seen since the beginning of time.
2. Healings en masse at a scale and power as never known before.  Epidemics eradicated only by the power of the prayer and declaration of the saints.  Titanium and plastic of prosthetics replaced by bone and cartilage.  Bones growing by inches.  All even as doctors scratch their heads. 
3. Entire graveyards being exhumed at the sound of trumpets.
4. Tsunamis brought to a standstill by the word of a single saint.
5. Leaders of nations brought to their knees in acknowledgement of His reign, regardless of political affiliations or convictions.  For every knee will bow before Him.

In either metaphor, the message is the same: don't worry about whether you'll miss His return.  It will be unmistakable to all, and all will know that His return (His kingdom notwithstanding) is at hand.

The Kindness of Christ

"If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

Matthew 24:22

Much, if not all of the first 28 verses of this chapter are considered to be a prophecy of the Roman siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.  The event was extreme and extremely bloody, and could be considered to have mirrored what Jesus described here.

His instructions in the passage are to flee when you see the destruction imminent.  Many were discovered to have indeed fled to the surrounding mountains during that time.  Could it be that they had indeed heeded the warnings of Jesus?

The kindness of God is not simply reflected provision or in outright protection; it's reflected in His warnings as well.  And if we ignore those warnings, resulting in personal (or even national) calamity then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

His love endures forever - as Father, as Lover and as Friend.